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Keep Your Kids Healthy This Summer with 7 Easy Steps and A Recipe for Immune Boosting Popsicles

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This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

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Summer is here! For many families that means trips to the pool, loads of outdoor activities, backyard barbecues, and even beach vacations. Although you and your family may be planning a vacation, summer illnesses aren’t planning on going anywhere.

This is Jennifer Dawn here… and I have several tips to share with you today to help your family stay healthy this summer including a recipe for immune boosting popsicles and a fantastic giveaway.

A BIG word of thanks goes out to Kinsa for sponsoring this post.

citrus popsicle recipe

Insect-borne infections, stomach bugs, water-borne illness, and other conditions can all plague your summer long after cold and flu season has ended. That’s why it’s important to take steps to protect your kids even during the warmest months of the year.

No one wants sickness–especially during the summer–so here are several steps you can take to keep your family feeling their best!

Tips to Keep Your Kids Healthy This Summer

  1. Wash away the germs. With all the summer fun going on around them, kids are more reluctant to take a break from playing for the essentials like washing their hands. Continue to encourage good hygiene and plenty of hand washing.
     
  2. Get enough sleep. During the summer months, days are longer and bedtimes become laxer. Stick to a routine and ensure that your child is still getting plenty of rest.
     
  3. Hydrate. Keep your kids hydrated especially on days spent out in the hot sun. Nothing beats water for staying hydrated, but natural fruit juices and healthy popsicles are great options too. In fact, we have a fantastic popsicle recipe we’re sharing with you below.
     
  4. Stay active. Ditch the screens and make sure the kids are getting plenty of exercise and activity in the great outdoors. My child’s doctor mentioned the other day that just 15 minutes outside each day prevents vitamin D deficiencies in kids.
     
  5. Safety first. Summer means more time spent outside participating in fun outdoor activities. Protect your kids from extreme heat and sun by using hats and sunscreen and seeking shade during the hottest parts of the day. Practice bike, scooter, and rollerblade safety with helmets and knee pads. And always make sure kids are supervised around water.
     
  6. Be prepared. Restock the medicine cabinet with first aid supplies and other essentials your family might need. The Kinsa QuickCare™ Thermometer is a great item to keep handy. It links to an app that helps you measure and track your child’s temperature if those summer illnesses do hit. Kinsa’s free app tracks fever readings, symptoms, diagnoses, medication doses, and other notes in a time-stamped log, for each member of the family. It also offers guidance based on your child’s temperature readings. No more wondering what to do next when your child is running a fever. This thermometer and app give real-time advice based on your child’s temperature, symptoms, and age.
     
  7. Stick to a healthy diet. With so many summer treats, it’s easy for kids to pass on eating the recommended servings of fruits and veggies. Keep your kitchen stocked with healthy snacks all summer long. Make treats that have nutritional value and health benefits like the tangy citrus immune boosting popsicles we’re sharing with you today! They are absolutely delicious, but they also pack a serious punch in helping to support your child’s immune system.

More About the Kinsa QuickCare™ Thermometer

Kinsa turned the first device you grab when sickness strikes – the thermometer – into a support system to help keep your family healthy. Recommended by 9 out of 10 pediatricians, Kinsa supports you from the first sign of illness through recovery and beyond by focusing on what’s most important – what to do next.

Kinsa thermometers are sold at thousands of retail stores nationwide, are used by more than 1.5 million people, and have been features on hundreds of news stations and in an Apple TV commercial.

kinsa feel better thermometer and app

The newest smart thermometer from Kinsa, QuickCare:

  • Takes professionally accurate 8 second digital temperature readings at the press of a button.
  • Offers personalized guidance on how & when to soothe symptoms, take meds and call the doctor.
  • Wirelessly connects to your phone to keep each family member’s health details in your pocket for you or the pediatrician.

If your kids get a fever this summer, you’ll be happy to have your Kinsa QuickCare™ Thermometer handy… and you can make them these delicious immune boosting popsicles.

Citrus and Ginger Immune Boosting Popsicles

Immune Boosting Popsicles

Citrus and Ginger Popsicles

Kids will love these citrus and ginger immune boosting popsicles.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Popsicle

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups pure pineapple juice
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger root
  • 1 cup orange juice fresh squeezed
  • juice from one lemon fresh squeezed
  • 2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

  • Pour pineapple juice into the container for your blender.
  • Peel and mince a small piece of ginger root. Measure 1 teaspoon to add to the blender.
  • Add fresh squeezed orange and lemon juices. If you do not have a juicer, squeeze the juice out by hand. Roll the fruit along the countertop. Slice each piece of fruit in half. Squeeze the juice into a bowl through a strainer to filter out seeds. Measure and pour into the blender container.
  • Add honey. Puree the ingredients together.
  • Pour the mixture into a popsicle mold. Place the mold into the freezer.
  • Once the popsicles are completely frozen, remove from the mold and enjoy!

 

Citrus and Ginger Immune Boosting Popsicles

How do these popsicles support a healthy immune system?

  • Ginger: The ginger adds the perfect amount of zing to the popsicles, but it also has proven health benefits. Ginger root can help prevent infections by inhibiting the growth of many types of bacteria. It also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

    Making Immune Boosting Popsicles

  • Pineapple: With antioxidants, enzymes, and vitamins, pineapple is an unsung super fruit. Its high levels of vitamin c, help to support the immune system. It also has several surprising benefits like supporting bone and eye health.
     
  • Citrus: Sure! Citrus fruits have plenty of vitamin C which supports a strong immune system, but they also have other healthy nutrients like potassium and fiber. And with flavonoids, they are good for your heart too!
     
  • Honey: Local honey is believed to help with seasonal allergies. Honey has other health benefits and can even help suppress coughs and soothe sore throats.

Our First Fever of the Summer Season

Our summer has already had a rough start. My youngest child fell in the yard and fractured two bones in his arm. Then two of my kids were hit by a virus.

It was two days after we’d returned from our beach vacation to the South Carolina coast when one of my children climbed into my bed and crankily called out, “Mommy, I’m tired and want to lay down.”

For my super active 5-year-old this was not typical behavior. I thought that he might just be worn out from the trip but decided to take his temperature. The digital screen on our Kinsa QuickCare™ Thermometer read 104.4 and the phone app gave an alert to immediately call the pediatrician. Since he wasn’t showing any other symptoms, the doctor on-call gave us instructions on how to get the fever down at home.

Within two hours, we had the temperature down to 100.9. Rest, fluids, and our immune boosting popsicles were on the agenda for the rest of that day and the following day. Thankfully he turned a corner within those two days. It was just a short-lived virus that had to run its course. What a relief to be able to take quick temperature readings and track his progress!

The pediatrician told us about a virus going around that results in high fever and aches for 1-2 days. When one of my other children came down with it, the Kinsa QuickCare™ thermometer was an amazing tool to monitor their fever and track their progress back to health.

Using the Kinsa QuickCare Thermometer

We want the rest of our summer to be free from further sickness and injuries, so you better believe we’re following these steps to keep everyone safe and healthy.

 

Pin it for Later

Kinsa Thermometer and App

 

Citrus and Ginger Immune Boosting Popsicles

Vitamin C Popsicles - Immune Boosting Popsicles

 

Immune boosting popsicle kids will love

 

Disclosure: This post is sponsored, so extra thanks for reading and sharing.
Written by Jennifer Dawn, a contributor here at 5 Minutes for Mom, and the blogger behind The Life of Jennifer Dawn.
Talk with us: @5minutesformom and Facebook.com/5minutesformom
Pin with us at http://pinterest.com/5minutesformom/

 

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125 Comments

  1. Stay away from sick people if possible as well. lol We follow the hand washing routine and hand sanitizer if possible.

    Reply

  3. To prevent colds, i encourage hand washing. I also make the kids hold their breath whenever we pass a person that is coughing or sneezing.

    Reply

  11. They need to get a lot of rest so they have resistance. Also probiotics in yogurt and fresh orange juice prevents illness

    Reply

  28. plenty of rest and keep fluids up also and give medicine if needed and use cool washclothes on back of neck and forehead

    Reply

  30. Love the idea of a thermometer with an app. We need a new one. Sometimes a cool washcloth will help with a smaller fever. Also…plenty of rest.

    Reply

  31. We let lower fevers just run their corse with lots of extra rest. Fevers are our natural way of fighting off bad bacteria, viruses and infection.

    Reply

  33. The popsicles sound good. Some many natural things out there to help fight diseases or basic ailments.

    Reply

  35. I make sure they wash hands often and use hand sanitizer. Also try to keep them away from friends and family with colds.

    Reply

  36. I make sure my daughter washes her hands often and also give her a multivitamin each day.

    Reply

  38. Plenty of fluids, oil of oregano and vitamin C. Also put wet washcloth on their foreheads to bring the fever down and to feel good.

    Reply

  41. Peppermint candy made with real peppermint oil is good for upset stomachs, sore throats, and stuffy noses.

    Reply

  42. When battling a cold, I have my kids drink lots of water, get rest, chicken noodle soup, and wash their hands often.

    Reply

  43. My favorite thing is having people wash hands frequently! Thanks so much for the chances to win.

    Reply

  44. I carry hand sanitizer everywhere, but we still WASH hands with soap and water wherever we can. I also use the popsicle trick to help cool down fevers.

    Reply

  45. We wash our hands often, eat healthy by getting our daily helping of fruits and vegetables, and we get eight hours of sleep.

    Reply

  49. We always sing the birthday song while washing our hands to make sure we get all the germs off. Try not to get worn down so we stick to consistant bed times as well.

    Reply

  51. My favorite way to get rid of a cold is to stay in bed and watch movies on the laptop. I always make sure to drink plenty of liquids, have tissues nearby along with a trashcan.

    Reply

  55. Don’t touch any public surface with your bare hands (door knobs, shopping carts, Etc), use a paper towel. Also wash your hands frequently and avoid anyone who appears sick.

    Reply

  56. My best tip is to wash your hands frequently and wash them well; along those lines, avoid putting hands/fingers in your mouth.

    Reply

  57. Hand washing and using hand sanitizer when you can’t wash are great tips for trying to avoid colds and other viruses, and I try to tell my kids and grandkids to try to always wash their hands.

    Reply

  59. I avoid illness by eating organic whole foods, exercising and drinking lots of water. I keep my immune system working and don’t get sick.

    Reply

  65. We make sure our kids are getting the recommeded allotment of sleep to start. I find it really helps in keeping their bodies inline. Second, we consume a lot of citrus that has vitamin C. We also make sure to give the kids each a daily vitamin. We limit intake of liquids that are not water, while making sure to up their water intake. And we also make sure that they are washing their hands after using the restroom and being around those that are sick.

    Reply

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  74. We’ve always been pretty lucky when it comes to sickness… until my daughter got Meningitis. Now, she seems to pick everything up more easily. We try lots of rest, lots of nutrition and hydration to stay as healthy as we can.

    Reply

  75. Handwashing is a big thing in my house. I work at a hospital so I know how important it is to always wash your hands. I teach all three of my kids this!

    Reply

  82. During the summer I have him take vitamin c everyday, wash hands often. To battle fever, I just give him ibuprofin.

    Reply

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  85. In the summer, hand washing is a favorite. When you leave your hands under cold water and allow it to hit your pulse points, it also helps to cool you down. Thank you for the giveaway!

    Reply

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  99. The best way to prevent a cold is to wash your hands and take vitamin c. When my kids are sick they drink lots of Gatorade.

    Reply

  100. My favorite way to try to prevent a cold is to not go around people that I know are sick. When I am in public, I try to remember to wipe down the handles of grocery carts and watch what is being touched by someone who appears to be sick.

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  102. One of the best ways to prevent a cold is to get plenty of rest so your immune system remains strong.

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  112. One gentle approach to bringing down a fever is a tepid bath or cool cloths on your temple and wrists.

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  119. Hand washing, time outside, and healthy eating work for us, especially getting outside for a while every day regardless of the weather.

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  120. We wash our hands so much… sometimes they are chapped… but better than a cold. We need a new thermometer.

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